Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/1498036
PalletCentral • March-April 2023 33 Under the program, OSHA generates inspection lists of establishments with elevated "Days Away, Restricted or Transferred" (DART) rates; establishments that have upward trending rates during CY 2019-2021, establishments that did not provide the required electronic Form 300A to OSHA; and certain establishments with low DART rates in CY 2021, to verify the data accuracy and quality control. e main changes between the 2020 and 2023 versions are: • For high-rate establishments, the SST plan will select individual worksites for inspection using CY 2021 Form 300 A data, rather than CY 2019 data. • For upward trending establishments, the SST plan selects individual establishments based on CY2019-2021 Form 300 A data, rather than CY 2017-2019 information. • Low rate establishment lists will be generated using CY 2021 Form 300A data, instead of CY 2019 data. • e "non-responders" list will be generated using CY 2021 data, rather than CY 2019. Non- responders are identified by OSHA generating a random sample of establishments that failed to electronically submit data (based on NAICS code). If OSHA arrives and finds the establishment is an administrative office and not high hazard, they will stand down. Similarly, if the worksite does not meet the criteria due to being under 20 employees, the inspection will be terminated. ere may also be a "records only" inspection conducted that includes employee interviews, to verify the employer injury and illness data. Any violations in plain view or brought to OSHA's attention during discussion with workers can expand the scope of the inspection. More changes may be in store for SST in the future. e OSHA e-recordkeeping rule, which was issued at the tail end of the Obama administration, was subsequently gutted in terms of the reporting scope under the Trump Administration. It has been reopened and is at the final rule stage, with the issuance expected in June 2023. If the deadline is met, it will likely apply to data from CY 2023 and beyond. e planned changes include revising the list of NAICS codes covered for small employers, changing that size definition from 20-249 employees to 20-99. Larger employers would have to submit all forms (Form 300, Form 301 and Form 300A), if the proposed rule is followed. e current rule also includes enhanced whistleblower protections (29 CFR 1904.36) for workers retaliated against for reporting an injury or illness, or for exercising any of their rights under Section 11(c) of the OSH Act. ose provisions are not expected to be altered in the current rulemaking. OSHA also announced its new "Instance-by- Instance" citation program in early 2023, which takes the place of the former "egregious" violation category. Simply put, OSHA can elect to impose a separate citation item/penalty for each affected worker under certain circumstances, or it can refuse to "group" violations of the same standard as separate "sub items" with a grouped penalty. is means that the new maximum $156,000 penalty can be magnified by five or ten, depending on the circumstances, and this even applies to recordkeeping violations. e criteria impact employers who have had a willful, repeat or failure to abate violation within the previous five years, if the employer failed to timely report a severe injury or fatality under 29 CFR 1904.39 (8 hours for a fatality, 24 hours for an amputation, inpatient hospitalization or eye loss), or if the proposed citations being considered for IBI relate to a fatality or catastrophic accident (multiple hospitalizations). In late 2022, OSHA relaunched its Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP), building on its 2010 program that went dormant during the Trump administration. OSHA's updated SVEP criteria include the following: • Program placement for employers with citations for at least two willful or repeated violations or who receive failure-to-abate notices based on the presence of high-gravity serious violations. • Follow-up or referral inspections made one year – but not longer than two years – after the final order. • Potential removal from the Severe Violator Enforcement Program three years after the date of receiving verification that the employer has abated all program-related hazards. • Employers' ability to reduce time spent in the program to two years, if they consent to an enhanced settlement agreement that includes use of a safety and health management system with seven basic elements in OSHA's Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs (I2P2). OSHA first introduced the SVEP in June 18, 2010, replacing the "Enhanced Enforcement Program." OSHA designates employers as "severe